Bloody Cricket Bat Reportedly Found In Oscar Pistorius' Home

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Police in South Africa are reportedly investigating the discovery
of a bloodied cricket bat at the home of Paralympic athlete Oscar
Pistorius.

Local reports stated police believe he may have used the bat to
attack girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp before shooting her dead on St
Valentine's Day morning, according to a local report.

Detectives are working on two other theories concerning the bat:
that it was either used to break down the door of the bathroom
where she hid, or that she used it to defend herself against Mr
Pistorius, South Africa's City Press reported.

One bullet cartridge was found in the champion sprinter's bedroom
and police are looking at whether he "chased" his girlfriend and
fired the first shot before she locked herself in the bathroom
and he fired three more through the door, the paper said.

It cited three sources "close to the high-profile investigation"
who said the police had a "rock solid" case against South
Africa's former golden boy.

A post-mortem examination on the body of the 29-year-old model
revealed that as well as bullet wounds to the head, arm, hand and
hip, she suffered a fractured skull, it reported.

"There was lots of blood on the bat. Forensic tests will show
whose blood it was," one source was quoted as saying.

The latest revelations, under the headline The Case Against
Oscar, come after his family launched a fightback campaign saying
the police had no evidence to sustain a charge of murder.

Mr Pistorius' father Henke told the Telegraph in an exclusive
interview that the family had "zero doubt" that Mr Pistorius shot
Miss Steenkamp dead mistakenly thinking she was intruder.

He said the entire Pistorius family was "heart and soul" behind
the athlete and would do "whatever needs to be done" to help him
clear his name.

The family also released a statement in which they described the
26-year-old athlete as "numb with shock as well as grief" over
the events of the past three days.

"We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and
that the State's case, including its own forensic evidence,
strongly refutes any possibility of premeditated murder or indeed
any murder at all," they added.

A close friend of Mr Pistorius told how the athlete called him
moments after Miss Steenkamp was shot.

"Oscar called me at 3.55am saying that Reeva had been shot. I
said to him, 'What are you talking about? I don't understand
you.' He then repeated himself – 'There has been a terrible
accident, I shot Reeva," Justin Divaris told the Sunday People.

"Next thing his neighbour picked up the phone and told me it was
true and told me to get to Oscar's home. I was in total shock. I
asked the neighbour, 'Is she OK?' Did the gun go off by
accident?' She replied, 'No. She's not OK. You need to get
here'."

According to City Press, Mr Pistorius also called his father and
sister and asked them to come to the house at around 3.20am on
Thursday.

When they arrived, it said, Mr Pistorius was carrying his
girlfriend's body down the stairs – her head and arms were
"dangling", it added.

The athlete's sister Aimee has allegedly given a statement to
police saying her brother told her he had shot the FHM cover girl
thinking she was an intruder.

Miss Steenkamp was said to be still breathing as security guards,
neighbours and Mr Pistorius' family gathered, and he tried to
give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

But once police and paramedics arrived on the scene, she was
declared dead.

According to a source cited by City Press, Miss Steenkamp was
wearing a nightdress, an overnight bag was found at the house and
her iPad was on
the bedroom floor.

"It was clear that both of them had slept in the bed," the source
added.

The holster of a 9mm pistol similar to the weapon recovered by
police was found on one side of the bed, the paper said. A bullet
cartridge was also reportedly found in the bedroom and police are
investigating whether Mr Pistorius fired one shot then "chased"
Miss Steenkamp to the bathroom.

"The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in
the hip," one source was quoted as saying. "She then ran and
locked herself in the toilet. She was doubled over because of the
pain. He fired three more shots. She probably covered her head
which is why the bullet also went through her hand."

Police asked for blood taken from Mr Pistorius to be tested for
steroids, City Press claimed, in anticipation that his defence
team might claim he acted in "roid rage" – an aggressive
condition associated with taking large doses of
performance-enhancing drugs.

The sensational new claims come after Miss Steenkamp, a law
graduate from Port Elizabeth on South Africa's south coast,
appeared posthumously on the reality television programme,
Tropika Island of Treasure, which was screened by the country's
national broadcaster, the SABC, last night with her family's
blessing.

In the programme, filmed in Jamaica, Miss Steenkamp was seen
alongside other bikini-clad contestants taking part in a hunt for
treasure to win £73,000 in prize money.

In a poignant interview, filmed just days before she died as she
prepared to return home, she spoke about the importance of
leaving a positive mark in life.

"Not just your journey in life but the way that you go out and
make your exit is so important. You have either made an impact in
a positive way or a negative way," she told the camera.

On Saturday, Miss Steenkamp's father Barry insisted that they did
not "hate" Mr Pistorius for what had happened.

"He must be going through things that we don't know about," he
told the Mail on Sunday. "There is no hatred in our hearts."

He said he and his wife June and the rest of their family were
struggling "to find some reason why this happened to our lovely
daughter".

"This is a very difficult time for us," he told the paper. "June
is inconsolable. We just need to find some answers. We ask the
Lord every day to help us find a reason why this should happen to
Reeva. She was the most beautiful, kind girl in the world. She
had love for everyone and she was loved by everyone who knew
her."

Mr Pistorius' uncle Arnold and sister Aimee read a statement on
Saturday in which they said that he had cared deeply for his
girlfriend of four months.

"All of us saw at first hand how close she had become to Oscar
during that time and how happy they were. They had plans together
and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a
long time," they said.

They said their entire family was "in a state of total shock".

"Firstly about the tragic death of Reeva who we had all got to
know well and care for deeply over the last few months," they
said. "We are all grieving for Reeva, her family and her friends.
Oscar – as you can imagine – is also numb with shock as well as
grief."

On Friday, during his first court appearance, Mr Pistorius
repeatedly burst into tears as prosecutors discussed how they
would charge him with murdering his girlfriend.

Standing behind him, his father and brother were seen reaching
out to clasp his shoulder and pat his back. Henke Pistorius told
the Telegraph that they were a close family and had no doubt of
his innocence.

"I let him know that all of us are in heart and soul with him,"
he said.

"That's why we were there and whatever needs to be done we will
do."

He said there was "zero doubt" in his mind that he had acted in
fear of an intruder, he added. "Without any doubt there was no
purpose in it, it's not an issue for us," he said. "I have zero
doubt (that he thought it was an intruder) – it's totally absurd
to even suggest anything different. "When you wake up in the
middle of the night – and crime is so endemic in South Africa –
what do you do if somebody is in the house? Do you think it's one
of your family? Of course you don't," he said.